Jupiter
by Yotsubadancesintherain5
Summary: A collection of short one shots featuring Madoka/Homura.
1. AU - Supernatural

Homura had found the bundle on top of a concrete wall. She thought at first that it was an abandoned doll. But dolls didn't feel warm, or curled up in your arms as you walked.

Well, as far as she knew. Technology for dolls was surprisingly advanced.

Homura pushed the thought of dolls crying water and eating plastic food while she balanced the not-doll in her arms while unlocking the door to her home. She placed the whatever it was on the couch and tossed her school bag onto her bed.

Homura wasn't really in the mood to finish up her half-written essay and went to the kitchen for a light snack. When she came back, chewing on a piece of bread, she found the thing she had picked up looking around curiously.

Homura let out a yelp of surprise and dropped the bread. Images of killer toys flashed through her brain, but the onslaught of them was interrupted when the not-doll spoke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare," the not-doll said with a high, sweet voice. "Or intrude."

"What are you?!"

"An angel." The sentence was matter of fact.

"An angel," Homura repeated. "Aren't you... if you are an angel, shouldn't you be bigger?"

"Oh." The angel fluttered upward, looking achingly cute as she hovered. "When it gets dark, angels who aren't fully trained become tiny. And demons become tiny when the sun is out."

Homura blinked. She wasn't religious, so she wasn't sure if that was true. Or there was the possibility doll technology had gotten so advanced that the toys could explain the functions it had.

"My name is Madoka," said the angel. "Thank you for carrying me here. A demon tried to get me, and I'm sure I would have gotten dragged to Hell if you didn't find me."

"Y... you're welcome," said Homura. She had a vague thought of what fallen angels were defined as, but she could research that later.

"I'm here on Earth for a reason," Madoka said. "I have to find an angel that has gone missing. But if I don't hurry, I have to go back because only I can sing to the tree that makes cherubs."

"That would be bad," Homura replied. She wondered if she was dreaming. There was a movie about something similar to this, an American one, she thought.

"So if it's not too much to ask... Can I stay here?" Madoka looked away shyly as she asked this. "I don't have to eat or drink, and I can help you with household chores..."

Even if this was a dream, it would be cruel to deny her that.

"You can stay here."

"Thank you!" Madoka exclaimed. She glided down, and picked up the piece of bread on the floor. "I'll take care of this."

The night passed on, and Homura finished her essay and ate dinner. Madoka seemed amazed by the bowls Homura used. When it was time for bed Homura made a nest of towels for Madoka to sleep in, laid down on the couch.

Homura was still half-convinced that this was a dream, but it was a pretty nice one regardless.


	2. AU - Thieves

Madoka hadn't had a family, at least one that she could remember. The earliest memory she possessed was being trained by the older girls to reach into an affluent gentleman's pocket and deftly draw out enough coins so that the older girls could go see a new invention, the nickelodeon. Madoka was too short to see through the binocular-like lenses, but one of the older girls wrapped her arms around Madoka's stomach and lifted her up. It hurt, but it was worth it to see the moving picture of a man and lady rowing together in a row boat.

From then on, until she became older, Madoka's job was to be an adorable distraction while the older girls stole. She recognized the jolt of fear when a policeman walked by, but relished when someone took pity on her ragged clothing and gave her a treat like an apple or coveted chocolate.

Sometimes, girls would go missing and never come back. The ones that remained suspected that they got arrested, or married, or became stowaways in a boat.

There was a tiny, hidden whisper that the controller of the pickpockets, Kyubey, got rid of them when they got too careless or sloppy. Madoka didn't want to believe that one. Though, once she saw what looked like blood stained into his shirt and her stomach turned to ice.

One day, when Madoka was twelve years old, there was a girl that found their hideout. She was dressed finely, and Madoka wondered if she had gotten lost or was very lucky when she stole.

The girl called herself Homura and wanted to join the pickpockets. She said that she wouldn't go back to her old life, and held a surprising amount of grit against the naysayers.

Apparently they begrudgingly accepted, because Madoka found herself training this newcomer. Homura's first attempt at stealing was worse than one of the children, but her clothing prevented anything horrible from happening.

That was in the winter. Now, when the air became stifling hot, Homura's clothing had been sewn up and patched over too much to know that she had once been of high society.

The two had managed to fill their quota for the day, and Homura whispered that she knew a place to see the stars. It was near a neighborhood that Madoka had never seen before, one with grand houses and trees in the front lawn. Homura reached up to a tree with round, orange fruit and pulled one down as they walked.

"Here, try this."

Madoka held the fruit in her hands, and tried to bite at it. The fruit was too hard to bite into and she made a noise of disgust.

"Oh, you don't eat the skin," said Homura. She took it back and dug her nails into the skin, peeling it open. She held out a slice of the fruit out to Madoka.

It was tangy and sweet, and Madoka chewed out all the flavor before swallowing it. She finished eating the fruit, and was disappointed when she found there was no more to eat, when Homura pointed out where the stars were best seen.

It was a hill, with prickly burrs that sprung up from the grass, but Homura stomped them down so that they could sit down.

They watched as the sky slowly became dark.

"I used to think they were lighthouses," said Homura, after a moment's quiet. "But I told it to my parents and they told me what they really were."

Madoka let her head drop. She held in her breath before asking, "Do you miss your family?"

"No," was the adamant reply. "If I did, then I would regret this. And I don't."

"Not even when you worry about getting caught, or when it goes awry, or even when the police are called?"

"Well, I met you," said Homura. "So I don't regret."

Madoka pulled on one of her pigtails. She wasn't sure how to respond.

"I haven't ever had a family," she said after a while. "But I always wanted one. You've probably heard, some of the girls don't want to be under Kyubey's power anymore. So when we all escape, we'll make our family. You and me, we'll be the parents to them, even the older ones."

She hid her face in her hair. "If you want to."

Homura gently pulled Madoka's hands from her face. She said, "I would like that."

(The words of found family were repeated months later, when the police found their hideout and there was chaos. Madoka refused to leave Homura, at the latter's insistence, and they faced the turmoil together.)


	3. AU - Married

The police caught Kyubey when a group of the girls had circled themselves around him, standing strong in his frenzy of kicking, biting and screaming. The newspapers would write about his loss of dignity following arrest.

This act of frothing rage made the public suspect if the thieving girls under his "employment" were there willingly and the evidence was overwhelmingly stacked against him when they found the papers of the girls, the ones missing having their names scratched out in red. Some of the older girls acted as witnesses and confirmed that they had seen him commit the act of murder, or bury the corpses in fields.

Now there had been questions as what to do with the girls. Some of the public called for the younger ones to be put in orphanages, some called that it would be cruel to rip apart the makeshift families and others wanted the girls to pay for the crimes of stealing.

But as it was now, Homura would be grateful for the little time they could spend together, tied by this way of life. She cut off the majority of her long hair and rubbed dirt on her once ornate clothing and was glad she didn't give out her family name when she decided to join the band of thieves.

She let her hand graze Madoka's palm, the two of them surrounded by the others in this holding cell, while the trial went on for Kyubey. Earlier the two girls had a wedding, the others as witnesses, though they had no rings at the moment.

It wasn't recognized by the state for lack of ceremony and preparation, but it was real.

**A/N: A continuation of the last chapter.**


	4. AU - TV: Bob's Burgers

This vacation was dedicated to visiting the east coast of the United States, for a half school-related trip to half fun. Right now, Madoka was shaking off the remnants of terror, because the roller coaster she rode creaked and screeched under the cart. She stumbled down the stairs, and Homura caught her arm.

"How was it?"

"I didn't like it," Madoka gasped. She felt bile rise up in the back of her throat.

"Here, I think we should leave," said Homura. She led Madoka through the wharf, the latter biting on her lips when they passed by concession stands of food. The smell was unbearably sweet, and did no favors to her stomach.

When they left the wharf and Madoka breathed in the salty, slightly stagnant air she felt a little better. They walked down the street together.

There was a restaurant that sold hamburgers to their left, and Madoka wanted to see a genuine American hamburger place while on their trip. They went inside and settled into a booth, picking up the menus.

Madoka glanced around the place, and saw a chalkboard with English words written on it. She asked Homura what it meant, and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when she got the answer, "Singing in the grain". Whoever wrote that must've been confused.

Madoka looked back down at her menu, glad that her stomach had calmed down. The illustrations of the burgers were mouth-watering.

When she looked up at the sound of shoes clattering by, there was a little girl with a bunny hat on her head, tossing a pad of paper and pen on the table. The girl climbed into the booth and made herself comfortable; talking a stream of English words that made Madoka fidget.

Homura answered back flawlessly, the little girl looking visibly excited. Madoka heard the word "Japan" but otherwise was hopelessly lost about the meaning of the conversation.

Eventually, she heard something that sounded familiar: the Kuchi Kopi series, the one that Tastsuya liked so much. Madoka managed to say in English, "Kuchi Kopi is cute," but that directed the little girl's attention to her, with a barrage of sentences Madoka couldn't understand.

She did hear an English sentence she understood, which was bellowed from the kitchen: "_Oh my God!"_

Madoka thought that this place was very interesting indeed.


	5. AU - Royalty

Madoka couldn't believe that her life had brought her to this place. She had always thought that her life would be relatively simple, as it had been for her family for many generations. But the castle had needed employment and she had decided to go under apprenticeship there.

Now, she found herself a servant to the Princess Homura herself. It was an honor that she couldn't have dreamed of ever happening.

There was a ball in honor of the princess, and she had to be perfect and ready. Madoka helped her into the gown, and paused when she saw the thin, white line where Homura's heart was.

Madoka bit back the question and gingerly pulled Homura's arms through the sleeves, pulling down the long fabric into its proper place.

She led the princess to her vanity and began to work on her hair, plaiting the long strands. Madoka crossed two strands over each other and formulated her question.

"Highness, if it doesn't offend, may I asked how you received that scar?"

Homura looked downcast. Madoka held her breath and tied the braids firmly, her face burning with shame for asking such a question.

"It was an assassin," Homura said. "He only grazed my skin with his knife. I'm lucky to be alive."

Madoka didn't find herself very surprised at the answer. But the thought of somebody trying to murder the princess set her heart aflame with anger.

"If I may say so, your Highness," she growled, "Anybody who would want you dead is a _fool_."

She didn't get an answer, but Homura smiled faintly, and that was enough. From then on, when the work became exhausting and she could barely stand, Madoka would be soothed by the memory of Homura's smile.

**A/N: Originally posted on AO3 on March 10 2017**

**Thank you for reading this.**

**I have a headcanon that Homura has a scar on her chest in the canon series because of her heart condition – surgeries and such.**


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